'I apologize to Marshon every single day': Winston talks being on both sides of Lattimore-Evans rivalry

METAIRIE, La. -- It each started with a helmet poke.

New Orleans Saints backmost Jameis Winston astir cringes erstwhile helium thinks astir it now.

If helium had held backmost his temper, possibly things would've gone a batch differently. Maybe Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans and Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore would've walked distant and ne'er considered each different much than competitors that look disconnected doubly a year.

But Winston couldn't assistance himself connected Nov. 5, 2017.

Winston, past with the Buccaneers, had conscionable injured his enarthrosis successful the 3rd 4th of an eventual nonaccomplishment to the Saints. He was frustrated, irritated and truly didn't privation to woody with Lattimore, past a rookie cornerback for the Saints, who was walking adjacent the Bucs sideline.

So Winston poked Lattimore successful the helmet and told him to spell away. Lattimore shoved Winston, Evans rushed successful to support his quarterback, blindsiding Lattimore and sending him to the ground. Other players joined the fray, and portion Evans wasn't thrown retired that day, helium was yet suspended for a game.

One of the astir heated subordinate rivalries successful the NFL was born.

"I was not successful a bully spot due to the fact that I had conscionable gotten took retired of the game," Winston recalled. "There was a benching that I was not comfy with. I conscionable retrieve Marshon being connected our sideline, being competitive. And Mike came successful and deed him. I don't needfully deliberation that was fair, but Mike was my teammate, my receiver. So I've got to recognize the risks that [it] had, what that could've been for Marshon. ... Mike was a competitor, helium was like, 'That was my quarterback.' And that's however helium was implicit there."

When asked astir Winston feeling a consciousness of work for starting the rift, Evans simply said, "It is what it is," and said helium maintains a adjacent narration with Winston.

The rivalry shows nary signs of letting up 5 years later, and it could really beryllium getting much intense. The 2 players person met 11 times, including playoffs, with a 12th gathering looming Monday if Lattimore tin instrumentality from an abdomen injury, which has kept him sidelined since leaving the crippled against the Seattle Seahawks connected Oct. 9. Lattimore is officially being listed arsenic questionable connected the wounded study heading into crippled day.

"We're 2 competitors," Evans said. "Two competitors, 2 of the champion successful the concern and we spell astatine it. We get physical, and it's a bully matchup."

Said Winston: "They're the champion astatine their craft, right? It's been that mode for the past 5 years and that's connected the leafage for everyone to see. Do I deliberation it's personal? Yeah. I deliberation it's personal. ... I hatred that I interfered with initiating the rivalry erstwhile I was with Tampa. I apologize to Marshon each azygous day. No, for real. But astatine the extremity of the time Marshon is my teammate, and I emotion Mike. So that's betwixt them."

In their archetypal gathering this play connected Sept. 18, Evans and Bucs moving backmost Leonard Fournette initiated a bench-clearing brawl aft Evans came to the defence of Bucs backmost Tom Brady, who appeared to person words with Lattimore. Both Lattimore and Evans were thrown retired of the game, and Evans received another suspension.

Brady called Evans' suspension "ridiculous" connected his "Let's Go!" podcast the time aft the Bucs' 20-10 triumph implicit the Saints. He said it meant the satellite to him that Evans wanted to support him and didn't deliberation helium deserved a suspension.

"I deliberation it's an affectional game, and I deliberation it's a precise hard-nosed squad that we're playing," Brady said Friday. "These guys person been unneurotic for a agelong time. They play good together.

"I deliberation Mike evidently doesn't privation to get kicked retired of a game. I'm definite Marshon doesn't privation to get kicked retired of the game. Everyone wants to vie and play hard, but you play to the missive of the law. When it goes beyond that, things hap unfortunately, but you larn from it and effort to determination on."

Winston said helium did not speech to Evans astir the combat pursuing that game, keeping his conversations with him to things extracurricular of football.

There was a clip erstwhile Evans said helium intended to apologize to Lattimore for the archetypal incident, a determination helium has called "childish" and has taken work for starting.

But arsenic the years person gone on, the clip for making up has passed.

"That's real-life beef," Saints antiaircraft extremity Cameron Jordan said. "I talked to Mike astir it, and it went from 'Ah, it's nothing,' to 'They don't similar each other.' It is what it is. It's a precise evident situation."

As to wherefore the emotions ne'er died down, Jordan doesn't know.

"It intelligibly has to beryllium thing due to the fact that it conscionable keeps happening right?" Jordan said.

The feud is truthful good known by this constituent that Bucs tackle Tristan Wirfs was warned arsenic a rookie to support an oculus connected Evans erstwhile helium went up against Lattimore.

"[Former Bucs choky end] Ryan Griffin told me, whenever we play these guys, conscionable to support an oculus connected Mike," helium said aft their archetypal gathering this season.

Blue Oak BBQ, a section edifice successful New Orleans, posted a motion extracurricular their edifice banning Evans for beingness aft their combat this season.

"This is simply a nary Mike Evans establishment," the motion work nether a representation of Evans.

There person been different modern feuds betwixt cornerbacks and opposing wide receivers. Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman called retired San Francisco 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree. Odell Beckham Jr. (then with the New York Giants) and Josh Norman (then with the Carolina Panthers) earned fines and suspensions for their battles. Wide receiver A.J. Green and cornerback Jalen Ramsey got into a one-time combat erstwhile Green was with the Cincinnati Bengals and Ramsey with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

But nary caller matchups person provided the year-after-year amusement similar Evans and Lattimore.

"It's not astir each the extracurricular stuff. Because that stuff's personal. Everyone's got their ain sentiment connected that," Winston said. "But the matchup betwixt the two, it's virtually the champion vs. the best, and we get to spot it two, sometimes 3 times here."

There was a clip erstwhile Lattimore had the precocious manus successful the matchup, and helium happily pointed retired successful a Tweet connected Nov. 9, 2020, that helium held Evans to nary catches for 3 consecutive games.

"Better luck adjacent year," Lattimore wrote.

Better luck adjacent twelvemonth https://t.co/Dox6xiDwpN

But some players person had a hard clip getting connected way aft they went their abstracted ways.

Frustration has been brewing for Evans and the Bucs' offense, who are averaging conscionable 17.55 violative points per crippled -- 26th successful the league -- aft averaging 30.36 violative points per crippled done 12 games past season. Evans hasn't scored a touchdown since his two-touchdown show successful the Bucs' Week 4 nonaccomplishment to the Kansas City Chiefs, and helium lone has 3 each season, compared to the 10 helium had done Week 12 past play and the 11 helium had done Week 12 successful 2020.

In fact, the 3 touchdowns Evans has is the 2nd lowest full done 12 games he's had since his rookie play successful 2014.

With Lattimore's wounded issue, helium volition decorativeness the play with his fewest games played successful his six-year career, portion the Saints are struggling to decorativeness the play with a winning grounds -- but truthful is the full NFC South.

Evans said helium knows helium has to support his chill if Lattimore makes it backmost to the tract Monday (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN), particularly with 2 suspensions nether his belt.

When asked however he'll support himself successful cheque to debar an ejection, Evans said, "I conscionable play my game. I conscionable can't shove idiosyncratic you know, similar retired the air. I've conscionable gotta like, support my emotions successful cheque and conscionable play hard similar I ever do."

Buccaneers violative coordinator Todd Bowles said the squad talked to Evans astir keeping his chill aft the combat earlier successful the season, but he's not disquieted astir a repetition issue.

"The astir important portion for Mike is, Mike gotta recognize however important helium is for america and what helium means to us," Bowles said. "Losing whoever they'd suffer connected defense, and we're losing Mike -- that's vantage them, the mode that I spot it. I deliberation he's that important for america arsenic an offense. He understands that. There was a batch of connection aft that archetypal crippled connected however important helium is to us."

Their teammates volition beryllium acceptable conscionable successful case.

"That's a Shon [vs.] Mike Evans situation," Jordan said. "I've got radical with 300 pounds connected them that I've got to interest about. If it comes to it, we'll get successful the heavy of things. We'll decidedly thrust for our guy. I deliberation Marshon has proven he's not acrophobic of anything. He doesn't backmost down for anybody. And it takes 2 oregon 3 guys to propulsion him successful the backmost to get him nether power I guess.

"That's perfectly fine. That's portion of the game. You're not expected to similar everyone you spell against."

Buccaneers newsman Jenna Laine contributed to this report.